Wednesday, November 14, 2012

"A Visit From Peoples Church"

Peoples Church, in Toronto, Canada, has stood with my family in global ministry since 1948.

This church family has for generations been impacting the global cause of the Kingdom.

It was a personal privilege to host the global ministries pastor, his wife and two members of the global ministries team on a recent visit to see what God is doing by way of ministry to orphans and other marginalized and disenfranchised people in Zimbabwe.

Please pray for the leadership of this pivotal ministry as they give careful attention to adjusting and fine-tuning their global strategy in the direction of more hands-on engagement in response to their global vision.

Sincerely,

Bud Jackson


Monday, November 12, 2012

"Joint Letter ..."

We offer this letter, authored jointly by the Field Leader of TEAM in Zimbabwe and myself, in a spirit of appreciation and with deep gratitude for the privilege it has been to lead the formation and early establishment of the ANESU Partnership.

The letter was written in August, in lieu of timely release, immediately following the assessment of the progress of the ministry of the ANESU Partnership.

We offer it here in support of the content of our most recent Newsletter.

We look forward to constructive dialogue with TEAM in Wheaton, Illinois upon our return to North America.

We esteem our TEAM Zimbabwe co-workers highly. We consider it a privilege, after more than three decades of ministry under TEAM, to contemplate working alongside TEAM in Zimbabwe in a shared response.

We look forward to seeing how God will ordain our on-going, albeit adjusted working relationship in the face of the tremendous challenge represented by those infected, affected and at risk by HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe.

The task is enormous. It requires great sensitivity, commitment, creativity and cooperation. In God's real Kingdom work, there are no competitors, only co-labourers. We respect and appreciate our TEAM-Mates in Zimbabwe, and are committed to nurturing the good personal and working relationship we enjoy with them.

Please pray for TEAM Zimbabwe's leadership as it adjusts and leads ANESU into the future God has planned for it. We look forward to standing side-by-side one day as we look back on what God was pleased to have accomplished through us together.

Sincerely,

Bud Jackson


Joint Letter -

Thursday, November 1, 2012

"Jackson Journey"

Dear friends,

This has been a very busy but fulfilling year.

It's a privilege to offer this update on what has transpired over recent months. This update comes to you at a point in time when we are contemplating what could prove to be a significant re-orientation in ministry connection.

We have considered it a profound privilege to serve with TEAM for over three decades. It has been a blessing to engage in evangelism and church planting in Zimbabwe, then in the Pacific Northwest of Canada, where we built relationships with and assisted local sending churches in the development of global strategies. It was a joy during these years, to multiply ourselves in contributing to the recruitment of others who have engaged in global ministries in various parts of the world.

In 2006, our lives took a profound turn. We were exposed in a new way to the compelling call of the theology of compassion. God opened up a way for us to travel with dear friends and ministry partners to Kenya, where we were confronted first hand with the challenge of ministry that balances the theology of conversion with the theology of compassion.

God began to sensitize and prepare us for a new chapter of ministry opportunity,and we were asked to take up the challenge of Africa HIV/AIDS coordinator for TEAM.

Then, in 2008, we were asked by TEAM's Zimbabwe field to commit two years to Zimbabwe, and given a mandate to establish the ANESU Partnership, build up a local base of operations, bring together a network of Zimbabwean initiatives, and facilitate strategic local church-to-church partnerships between local churches in North America and local-church led HIV/AIDS initiatives in Zimbabwe.

As we approached the conclusion of that two year commitment, we were told that TEAM's local leadership felt they needed to shift the focus of engagement, building on what had been begun.

When we communicated to our local Zimbabwean network of friends, and the churches in North America who had been working with us in Zimbabwe, we received an overwhelming call to continue as we have been doing in Zimbabwe, standing as cross cultural mediators of relationships that God is using to bring about profoundly effective strategic partnerships on behalf of people affected and at risk by HIV/AIDS.

At the time of writing, we are in consultation with TEAM in Wheaton, our local Zimbabwean network, our North American alliance of church partners and another well respected agency with a view to discerning just how we will be connected as we continue to pursue what we feel compelled to do in Zimbabwe.

We trust that this update will give you a clear sense of what that is.

Another strategic partnership is well on its way to becoming a realty as we write this report, and we are contemplating a visit by representatives of a long standing supporting church family in Canada who have indicated a desire for the kind of direct, hands-on engagement we love to facilitate.

We look forward to sharing more details on all of this in our next report.

We continue to be humbled and are deeply grateful by the overwhelming encouragement and support we receive from church families and individuals around the world.

Truly, God is doing something remarkable. We're honoured and profoundly grateful to be a part of it.

Bless you,

Bud and Mandy Jackson


Jackson Journey - Fall 2012 -